Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

srt101fan

Lukabulla

Most interesting topic and I look forward to more comments .
My main thing is taking ' Character portraits ' which I often combine with glamour .
It's often tricky , and have been accused ( by feminist types ) that some of my shots are too sexy .
Though to me its just portraits , Sexuality in photos ( if done right ) can bring out a lot of the persons character .
I've quickly chosen a couple of shots I took .
The colour one shows a lot of character especially with the self harm on the arm . Was just a quick 10 second shot in a nightclub in London .
The BW shot was a posed shot of an acquaintance in home studio .. The photo was with film and untouched . she objected strongly to the result , saying to me ' What have you done to me ? thats not me at all ' !! Cant win .lol lol

tcthome Loc: NJ

Great story!

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

A portrait is a portrait is a portrait is a portrait is a portrait.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

[quote=Timmers]During WW II there was a portrait made of the European Babe-A-Luscious Margret Bourke White. She had gone on what was suppose to be 'A milk run' over Germany, Of course she was Ikes main squeeze and got anything she wanted, even beyond reason, like flyingin a B-17 bomber over Germany.....(snip)

I suggest you read MBW's autobiography, "Portrait Of Myself".... for her words on that event. And, as Lagniappe, and a pretty good parallel, try Martha Gellhorn's "Travels with Myself and Another". Also note both were married (briefly) to already very successful authors.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

I think they're both gorgeous....subjects and photography.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The famous portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh, worked to show the subject's personality. I think he was the one who supposedly pulled the cigar out of Churchill's hand just before the took that famous shot.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/23/winston-churchill-portrait-stolen-canadian-hotel-yousuf-karsh

GLSmith Loc: Tampa, Fl

Considering they are all from "Look at me I have a camera, so I must be a photographer"....Just SCROLL or block

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Let's simplify what a portrait is. It is a picture focused on a person. I consider myself to be primarily a portrait photographer (not a pro). I look for shots that reflect personality or something about the person I know. A shot that makes me feel something about them. Sometimes, the most favourite photos of a person aren't studio shot images, but ones that simply say "Wow, that really shows the real Bob (or whoever).

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I hate those semi-nudes, heavily tattooed glamor, staged model shots, and other sexually charged images. I visit Facebook, looking for them all day and night to remind me why I look for them. 😁

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I hesitate to comment, since I'm not on FaceBook, have never used it, and intend never to use it.

I really don't see a "versus" here — at all. Personally, I like portraits to be about personality. For me, it's all about the expression. It's a glimpse of the person's nature, purpose, presence, soul… whatever that is. Glamourousness and sexiness are projected facets of personality. They may be utter fantasy, but many people want to see that fantasy, or be that fantasy, if only momentarily.

I have absolutely no issues with people showing off their bodies, their expensive fashions, their exotic makeup skills, etc., if that's what they have, or want, to show. Let them project what they wish to project about themselves, within the boundaries of the site's taste or acceptability.

In the end, the subject is MORE in charge of what they want to display than the photographer is. There may, in some instances, be an agent involved, such as in promotional images of actors, or images of models selling a product. OTOH, a lot of images on social media are "selfies", displayed out of pure vanity. Even the ones made by professional photographers may not reflect the tastes and insights of the photographer. Whatever is posted on a site as a "portrait," I think we have to take at face value.

If someone comes to me and says, "Take my portrait, please…," I'm going to have a conversation with them to understand who they are, what makes them "tick," how they wish to appear before others, and most importantly, why they want to look like that. It's a serious consideration, one that I don't take lightly and one that they shouldn't take lightly, either.

I've been a HUGE fan of Annie Leibovitz since her work appeared in RollingStone in the 1970s. She's an extremely accomplished celebrity and portrait photographer. While a lot of her work shows similar approaches, what sets her apart is her ability to connect with the people she portrays, and reveal something appealing or unusual or insightful about them. She manages to peel back the layers of awkwardness surrounding a portrait session, make a connection, and reveal something more than surface-level about the person. Everything she does supports that skill.

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida